Impulsive
by lydiamaartin
Summary: So, maybe James Potter had always been just a bit impulsive. And maybe asking your best friend to marry you without even asking her out wasn't the smartest idea ever. But, hey, it worked, didn't it? - JamesIIOC


**Disclaimer: I own Ellie, but nothing else. This was written for the Christmas Prompt challenge on HPFC forum.**

**The challenge: My given pairing was James/daughter of Neville, and my prompts were 'snow' and 'Honeydukes'.

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**So, maybe I've always been just a little bit impulsive. Like, on a scale of one-to-ten, I'd be a five.

Okay, a seven.

Oh, fine, I'd be a bloody _ten_!

But it runs in the family. You can't really blame a Potter for being _impulsive_, that's just what Potters _were_. Asking us not to be was like asking water not to be wet or the sun not to be hot. It just wasn't gonna happen. Potters were impulsive. I, in particular, was one of the most impulsive people in my entirely-too-large family.

This, though? This really took the cake.

See, it was a just another day in Hogsmeade. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and—

All right. It wasn't really like that. In fact, it was the dead of winter, it was snowing, and you couldn't find a bird for miles. Despite that, it wasn't exactly a gloomy atmosphere. Christmas cheer infused the air around the village to the point that everywhere you went, you could hear jingle bells and carols and laughter. It was rather nice, to be honest. Christmas was a holiday with the innate ability to cheer up even the most depressed bloke around.

However, this story doesn't start with a depressed bloke. It starts with, as mentioned before, an _impulsive_ bloke. That is, me. Uh, obviously.

It also starts inside Honeydukes, a store filled with nothing but candy for now—candy, me, and my best friend.

"I can't believe the first thing you spent your inheritance on was _this_," Ellie laughed, twirling around a display of chocolate-filled baskets. "You are so ridiculous, James."

Now, see, Ellie Longbottom is kinda totally amazing. She's been my best friend since we were little, and while we've definitely had our fights (including one rather painful one that lasted for our entire fifth year), she's always gonna be my best friend. She's smart, she's funny, she's good at coming up with alibis to bail me out when I get caught playing pranks, and she's just all-around awesome.

And on top of all that, she's got red hair. According to my irritating brat of a little sister, this means we're going to be 'true love forever'.

Whatever the hell _that_ means.

I grinned at her, and my heartbeat _might_ have tripled when she smiled back. "You love me."

She smiled and tossed a chocolate at me. "Prove it."

"Deny it," I challenged, and we both started laughing. It's kind of our 'thing'. And, okay, yeah, it's a little silly, but whatever. Who cares what you think, anyway?

"I can't," she admitted, brushing her hair—it looks like copper today…um, not that I noticed, or anything—back from her face. "You're too darn lovable, even when you do things as stupid as _buying Honeydukes_."

I unwrapped the chocolate and split it in half. "Oh, come on. It's a great idea. I get tons of money from the sugar-starved Hogwarts kiddos, you all get free chocolate, and we have a load of fun doing it. What could be better?"

She bit into the half I gave her. "We could go caroling," she suggested.

Did I mention she also likes to mess with me sometimes? She's amazing, yeah, but just a little too mischievous sometimes.

"And you call _me_ ridiculous," I sulked after swallowing my chocolate half whole. It was mint—Ellie's favorite, not mine. "You know I hate caroling."

She giggled. "C'mon," she said, grabbing my hand. She felt refreshingly cool, probably from the hundred times a day she sanitized her hands (she's a bit neurotic about germs, but it's kinda cute, to be honest).

"Where are we going?" I asked in confusion. "Ellie! I have to open the store in ten minutes! Ellie!"

She paid no attention to my words, though, dragging me out of the store and into the snow-covered streets of Hogsmeade. Almost immediately, snowflakes began drifting down and melting in our hair and clothes. Ellie shot me a smile over her shoulder, but refused to speak.

"Ellie, I'm serious, let me go! Students are gonna be coming soon and I have to—"

"Oh, stop complaining and listen, would you?" she huffed, a fond smile on her face when we finally stopped in front of some new bakery that opened last year. Outside was a group of little children, too young for Hogwarts, all bundled up in jackets and hats and mittens and singing some cheerful little song about how great it was to be, um, alive or happy or something. Whatever. They were cute.

"Aren't they adorable?" Ellie gushed, turning to me with her pretty hazel eyes and snow-coated curls and dazzling smile.

So, uh, remember that whole spiel about impulsiveness up there? Yeah, this is where that comes into play.

I took both her hands in mine and dropped to one knee.

Honeydukes wasn't the _only_ thing I bought with my inheritance.

"James, what on Earth are you doing?" she began, bewildered, as I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box.

"Marry me?" I asked hopefully, not a thought in my head asides from _dear Merlin, she's gorgeous_ and _please say yes_.

She stared at me with wide eyes as if she didn't believe what I was doing. Quite frankly, _I_ couldn't really believe it either.

I fumbled with the box for a moment and finally opened it to reveal a ring of gold, decorated with a blue diamond. "Ellie, I—I love you," I whispered, my heart pounding in my chest. "I think I've always loved you, really and I—well, will you marry me?"

"You've never even asked me out," she said, sounding a bit dazed. Gingerly, she touched the diamond. Blue was her favorite color.

"I know. I'm sorry. I just—I like doing things backwards?" I had enough sense at that point to flash her my most charming smile.

"I…" She shook her head, an amazed laugh bubbling up. "You're so ridiculous. I mean, you must be insane. Why else would you ask me to marry you without even asking me out first?"

I grinned hopefully. "Is that a yes?"

She knelt down and kissed me. "Yes, of course, you lunatic. Of course I'll marry you. Someone has to keep you sane."

I kissed her back, nineteen years of love and trust and friendship mingling with her apples-and-honey taste and the overwhelming feeling of _my God, I'm kissing the most amazing girl in the world_.

"Good luck with that," I whispered when we pulled apart to a chorus of _"Awww!"_s from the carolers. I slid the ring onto her finger and leaned my forehead against hers, smiling like a lovestruck idiot.

"Merry Christmas!" shouted one of the little boys in the caroling group.

I winked at him. "Merry Christmas, kiddo."

Yeah, that about sums it up.

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**Author's Notes: Now, did that get you in the Christmas spirit, or what? Writing as James is so much fun; he's just such an awesome character to work with :D If you liked it, please review! Thanks!**


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